“As they say, history always repeats itself,” read a Sept. 26 Instagram post sharing a video labeled as a 1970s public information film.
But watch for several seconds and it soon becomes clear this isn’t a decades-old artifact.
“If you’re away from home, drop face-first on the ground,” a narrator says. “In this position, the only cavity exposed is the anal duct, and it should not pose a problem so long as you’re wearing trousers.”
Another tip: “If you don’t have an indoor toilet, cut a hole in your favorite chair and stick a bucket underneath. If you don’t have chairs, dig a hole for yourself somewhere inside the house.”
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We searched for the video online and found several posts on TikTok, YouTube and elsewhere identifying it as the creation of CheeksProductions, which posted the film on YouTube in May 2020, a couple of months after COVID-19 was declared a pandemic.
Other videos posted on that YouTube channel are clearly humorous, both COVID-19-related and not.
Actor Charlie Tantam identified himself on his website as the narrator of the 1970s-themed film. He listed it under a section for his voiceover work for “parody shorts.”
“So proud to have done the voiceover for this back in the 70’s,” Tantam joked on X in May 2020. “It hasn’t aged very well but it remains a sobering watch.”
We rate claims this film is an actual 1970s PSA False.
